Fate:Director's Cut
by DapperDalton
Summary: Olga Marie is fated to die on that fateful day in Chaldea, her body disintegrated in those dreadful explosions. Her full potential never reached, fate cruelly denying her that chance in favor of Master Candidate 48. A surprise snow storm, and the intervention of a certain Wizard Marshal, change the way things turn out however. Buckle up Olga, you are in for a wild ride.
1. Chapter 1

A sigh escaped into the air of a large chamber, bizarre in color and shape. Concrete walls striped in darker and lighter colors were caught under a blue glow. Emitting the blue glow in the center of the room, was a massive structure, bizarre and high tech. Several metal rings floated freely, surrounding a blue holographic model of the earth like an astrolabe. Underneath the, most of the floor was taken up by large glass paneling, a walkway leading to a platform underneath the orb. Arrayed around the outside edge of the platform were a series of coffin like pods, each one with a person standing in front of it. Standing at one end of the platform, was a young woman.

Clad in an elegant outfit consisting of a black and orange overcoat over top a white dress, it was paired with pinkish red leggings and black high heels. Her refined german features carried a serious expression as she observed everything. Reaching a hand up to swipe a loose lock of white hair from out in front of an amber eye, she took stock of everything. A small grumble grew in her throat as she looked around the room, eventually turning to look at the girl next to her.

Lavender hair cut short framed her japanese features and glasses, even as they grew slightly nervous. An unzipped white hoodie covered her black dress, a bright red tie standing out against the dark material. Black leggings and small brown boots completed the outfit, even as her feet shifted a bit. The white haired woman spoke, making a small gesture with her hand. "Mashu, where is Doctor Roman?"

"I-I'm not sure Director. I figured he'd be here by now… If you want, I will go look for him." Mashu quickly got out in response, eliciting a sigh from the Director. She gave a quick shake of her head and raised her right arm in front of her chest, tapping at a small device on her wrist.

"If he doesn't respond to this, then yes. If he does, he's going to get an earful. Damn irresponsible doctor, out of all days he chooses to do this…" Her eyebrow twitched as it started to make a ringing sound. It happened once, twice, three times before Roman answered it.

"You better have a good excuse for why you're not down here. Or better yet, save it and just get down here already." Reaching up and rubbing the bridge of her nose, she bit back the growl that was growing in her throat. Out of all the staff, only he could get away with such laziness.

"O-Olga, I actually have a reason for being down there! Well, I do now… I was resting a hit before the test, and I got woken up by an… extremely important and unexpected guest… wish I was joking, but the Wizard Marshal is sitting across from me, asking for you to come to the room we're in. Please listen, I'm kind of scared. We're in residential room M48." Olga could only stare at the communicator, dumb struck by what she had heard. Mashu looked confused, tilting her head at her as she stayed frozen on the spot.

"...Roman, if this turns out to be some kind of practical joke, you'll wish you were never born. I'll be there in a minute." She cut the call off before he could respond, turning to look at the gathered people. "Be ready to rayshift as soon as I get back! Something has come to my attention that requires me personally dealing with it. Mashu, you stay here as well. This hopefully won't take long."

She turned on a dime and started marching out of the chamber, her mind already whirling as she stepped into the elevator and started her ascent. Why in the world had Wizard Marshall Zelretch shown up now of all times? If his reputation was anything to go off of, it'd be because this is the point where he would cause the most trouble. Still didn't explain his overall reasoning for coming… Was it because he had information to share? Because he wanted to see the first use of something that breached into the territory of true magic?

These questions continued to whirl around in her head as she walked down the hallway. Eventually she reached the door go the room she was seeking. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door and was met with a bizarre sight. Doctor Roman, with his wild peach colored hair and lazy looking face, sat across from an old paper skinned man with white hair, clad in a black robe. They both had tea cups in their hands, though only Zelretch was drinking, Roman struggling slightly to keep from dropping his, do to his hand shaking slightly. Putting the tea aside, they both got up from their seats, Roman rubbing the back of his head nervously as they all looked at each other.

"Ah, you must be the Director. It is a pleasure to meet you, Olga, far more than your father. He didn't interest me much, despite his efforts here. You on the other hand, have caught my interest." Zelretch offered her a hand, a sly smile coming across his face. Keeping her face a carefully constructed mask, she offered him a polite smile and took the hand, even though she was internally screaming. Catching his eye on one hand was a great honor, on the other hand it usually left you physically and mentally scarred.

"It is a great honor to have caught the eye of you, Zelretch. I'm afraid I'm going to have to pass on tea though, as you came at a bit of a bad time. We were just about to launch our first rayshift. If you'd like to come watch, I am sure we can talk aftaaaaaah!" The mask, and her composure, broke as she felt foreign prana start to flood her system.

She tore her hand from his grasp, hissing in pain as she grabbed her right wrist. The pain was all over, but it was its strongest on the back of her right hand. Her eyes went wide and she heard Roman gasps as slowly, a red glowing sigil spread across the back of her hand. It was three distinct parts, which all came together to make a stylized spear with wings. As it finished forming, the glow fades away along with the pain, leaving only a dull ache behind. Zelretch laughed a laugh even as they both turned to stare at him. "Wasn't one of the biggest issues the Clocktower have with you, was the fact that you had no master potential? Well, that issue is now nullified in its entirety, you've got Command Seals!"

Olga looked slack-jawed at seals on the back of her hand, any thoughts she might have had completely blown away by just how… ridiculous this was. Zelretch must have, in one fell swoop, completely rewritten a large part if her biology and even influenced her magic to make this happen. On one hand, it was a completely and utterly wrong to just… do it without asking her. On the other hand, the fact it wasn't that painful compared to a lot of magical surgeries, took that little time, and he was confident enough to just do it implied he put a lot of time and effort into this. She looked up at him, curling one hand into a fist as she grit her teeth. "I… thank you for your kindness. I must ask however, why are you doing this now, on the eve of Chaldea's most important moment?"

"Oh, the reasons quite simple my dear. Normally, I'd have pawned this off onto my apprentice, but there'd be issues down the line with her. Her sometimes boyfriend would work fine for a while, but I get tired of seeing him attract every woman to him like a magnet. So I need someone else to be the fourth eighth master in this world, and well I haven't gotten to observe a world where you're that master yet." Calmly explaining everything like it made any sense at all, Zelretch reaches over for his cup of tea and took a sip. Olga took a deep breath through her nose, ignoring Roman as he nervously wrung his hands.

"Marshal, I mean no disrespect, but that doesn't answer the question fully. As far as I know, the actual forty eighth master got stopped by bad weather, and is do in a week or two. Why are you trying to give that position to me instead?" Zelretch tilted his head for a moment, seeming to think as Olga sat there impatiently. She had already wasted enough time with this man, most of the staff were waiting on her and Roman.

"Oh, yes. You see, there has to be a forty eighth master in Chaldea on this day. Because the forty eighth master is the only one which truly matters." As he finished the sentence, a massive series explosion could be hear and felt rippling through the facility. Roman's tea split as both he and Olga struggled to stay on their feet, grabbing onto nearby furniture to keep upright. Zelretch stood completely fine, still sipping his tea and offering Olga a sad look. "I'm deeply sorry for not being able to do anything about the bombs. Too much influence on my part will attract his attention, and I rather not spend the amount of energy it'd take to fight him ever again. Even now, I'm getting the feeling that I have probably overstayed my welcome."

He set his tea cup down and offered a bow, his form quickly becoming engulfing in a rainbow of prana. It overpowered even the red emergency lights that started flashing, the warning message starting to blare over the comms. "I bid you two adieu. I suggest you get to the rayshift chamber my dear, a lot of damage has been done. Good luck, this world is relying on you two now.'

With those last words, the light reached its peak before suddenly vanishing. When they looked back to where he stood, nothing was there beyond the tea cup sitting on the table. A few moments passed while they processed the information that had been presented to them, before they both sprung into motion. Olga reached the door first, Roman on her heels as the two sprinted down the hallway. Gritting her teeth in anger, she shouted over her shoulder. "ROMAN! You go to the generators, we have get them going! I'm going into the rayshift chamber to see if I can find survivors!"

He nodded as the two quickly hit the entrance to the Raysyift chamber. It was hell, large chunks of rubble strewn about, fires burning, and the pods in the middle either tilted or laying on their side. Roman sucked in his breath as he saw its state, even as Olga kept on sprinting directly into the room. Cupping his hands, he shouted after her before turning and running into another corridor. "Be careful!"

Olga focused internally and let her prana flow, reinforcing her legs, the concrete under her feet cracking as she leaped across piles of rubble. She came to a stop at the first of the pods, brushing the layer of dust off the glass to look inside. The man inside was bleeding heavily from a cut in his head, and unconscious. A curse flew from her lips before she looked around, realizing there was no way she could get to them all in time. "Where is everyone? Medics! Lev! WHERE ARE YOU?!"

"I'm… over here… Director." Mashu's weak voice somehow managed to catch Olga's ear over the fire and collapses. She reinforced her legs again, springing over piles of rubble until she came to a dead stop upon finding her. An expression of horror etched itself onto her face as she saw the state she was in. A large chunk of concrete had fallen and crushed her lower half, a worryingly large pool of blood already having formed under her. "You… need to run… Director."

"SYSTEM SWITCHING TO THE FINAL PHASE OF OF RAYSHIFT COORDINATES , AD 2004, JANUARY 30TH, FUYUKI, JAPAN."

Neither the announcement nor Mashu's words connected in her head as she moved. If she got the block off her, she could stop the bleeding. Some vital organs had been lost, but not anything that would kill her instantly. She just had to get her out and stop the bleeding. Darting over to the rock and crouching down, she opened her magic circuits as far as she could and started enforcing every useful muscle she could manage. Punching her fingers into the concrete at the base, she started trying to heave it off of her, ignoring the rising pain in her fingers.

"LAPLACE SHIFTING PROTECTION AVAILABLE, SINGULARITY'S ADDITIONAL FACTOR SLOT SECURED. UNSUMMON PROGRAM SET. PLEASE MAKE FINAL PREPARATIONS!"

The grinding of the chambers doors overpowered the sound of fire and collapse for a moment as they slowly started to close. Feeling a panic rise in her chest, Olga poured more prana into her reinforcement, gritting her teeth against the pain as she threw herself against the block. She could feel her muscles starting to break down from both the reinforcement and the strain of what she was doing, but she wasn't stopping now. Everything wasn't lost yet, and dammit she wasn't going let everything be lost! Mashu's soft, almost desperate voice barely managed to register to her. "Director… leave me behind… I'm going to die… You can't stop that.."

"CENTRAL AREA SEALED. 90 SECONDS UNTIL INTERNAL CONTAINMENT PROCEDURE."

"Mashu, I'd appreciate it if you would shut up!" The doors thudded shut with the announcement, trapping the two of them in the chamber together. Olga felt tears start to flow as the pain and frustration started to build. She was actively tearing herself apart, and this damn rock wouldn't move! A scream of anger and desperation tore from her throat as she poured everything she had in, a wave of pain following after the prana as it surged. The rock slowly started to rise, millimeter by millimeter from the ground."I'm gonna do this, I WON'T LET THIS BE A COMPLETE FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!"

"COFFIN VITALS: MASTERS BASELINE NOT REACHED. RAYSHIFT REQUIREMENT NOT MET. SEARCHING FOR QUALIFYING MASTER… FOUND. UNREGISTERED CANDIDATE RESET AS MASTER."

Her scream of anger morphed into a cry of pain as she felt something inside of herself _snap_. Her arms became as limp as noodles, the block sliding out of her grasp and thudding back down onto Mashu's crushed lower half, drawing a gasp of pain from her. She teetered where she stood for a few moments, her vision growing blurry and dark before she fell onto her side. The last thing she saw before her sight faded completely was Mashu reaching out to grab a hold of one of her hands, saying something that she couldn't hear. All she had managed to do was get them both killed, it seems. How much of a failure was she…

"Unsummon program, start. Spiritron conversion, start."

"Rayshift starting in three… two… one… All procedures clear. First Order, commencing operation."

* * *

So, let's talk about Olga Marie Animusphere. A tragic character who met her at the end of Fate/Grand Order's first singularity. She served the purpose they wanted out of her, showing that Lev is both someone not to underestimate and to help build our hatred of him. It did leave me kind of… unsatisfied in a way though. To see her killed off, when it seemed almost like they were building up a to a complete character arc. They reveal more details about her as the story progresses, but it feels almost hollow without her actually there to progress.

I've seen a few writers try to tackle her staying alive. But they're rare, and almost always put her as a secondary character. Which is fair, since she is a secondary character in the game itself. I however, also think it's fair to give her own chance in the spotlight. This, will be one of the first stories where she is the true main character that I've seen. So… yeah. Hope you enjoy.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thing to return to Olga was her hearing. The sound of fires crackling slowly grew more noticeable, driving the fog in her mind away. The next sensation to return was smell, dirt, smoke, and dust finding their way inside her nose, clogging it. She opened her mouth to suck in a breath of air and coughed, and two more senses returned at the same time. Her mouth was completely dry, what felt like a layer of sand covering her tongue. As her body shifted with the breath, something dug into her back, drawing out a groan which quickly shifted into a cry of pain.

As the fog receded, it was replaced with the red hot sensation of pain. It felt like someone had taken out all her muscles and magic circuits below her neck, fried them over a fire, and then put them back in. Even the shallowest breaths possible drew out a small groan. Keeping her eyes squeezed shut, she focused on trying to force the pain down to a manageable level. Slowly, over the course of what felt like hours but she knew to be minutes, the pain lost its potency.

She hesitantly opened her eyes, squinting against the low lighting. Laboriously lifting her head up, everything seemed to be fire, low fires that didn't spread but simply sat and burned, refusing to die. The hollowed and shattered husks of buildings dominated everything in sight, their rubble being what was digging into her back. Gritting her teeth as her muscles protested with a new wave of pain, she forced herself to sit upright. Where was she, what had happened, where was everyone?

Pushing past the pain, an arm went out to grasp onto a nearby chunk of concrete, then the other. Achingly slow, she dragged herself up onto her feet. Leaning her side against the destroyed pillar, a glimmer of red caught her eye. On the back of her right hand was a sigil split into three parts, a spear with two wings coming out near the base. A few moments passed as the information was processed, before everything came rushing back. The rayshift test, Zelretch's visit, the ability to be a master being forced onto her, the explosions... Mashu.

The last memories of the young lavender haired girl brought her to her knees, tears starting to build as she bowed her head. Squeezing her eyes shut, she tried to force them back, to dam them up. The dam lasted all of five seconds before it broke, leaving her quietly sobbing into the foul air. She hadn't managed to save her, all that she had managed to do was put herself into danger. Everything that she had was thrown into saving Mashu, but all her efforts had done was trap her in the singularity and basically cripple her. She was a complete failure.

A small sound managed to work its way over the crackling of the fires, pulling her attention back to reality. The sound came again as she slowly pulled herself upright, feebly wiping the tears away with one hand. Something was out amidst the rubble, and it was getting closer. Stopping her snobs with a sniffle, she quickly shifted her eyes to search her surroundings , something white through the smoke and the fire, across the street. Straining to see through the fire, what little breath she was managing caught in her throat as it stepped through.

A skeleton, its bones bleached white despite the dirt and scorch marks of the terrain, but not completely unharmed. A part of the skull was caved in, and one of the arms was entirely gone. Wrapped around its torso was the ragged remains of its clothing, the only piece truly surviving being the belt. Resting loosely in a bony hand was a worn falchion, the blade still sharp despite its apparent age. Looking around with hollow sockets, it spotted her across the way and stopped. It's jaw dropped open and let out a loud cackle as two more skeletons leapt out of the flames behind it, joining in the heinous chorus.

Turning around, Olga stumbled away, putting the concrete in between her and the trio of undead. Every muscle in her body protested the motion, but the cackling was coming after her, rapidly. If she had been in better condition, fighting would have been the better option. Now though, even a single gandr shot was probably beyond her. Lying down and dying wasn't an option, leaving flight as the only option. Finding a hiding spot and waiting until she could establish communications was the best plan, even if it looked more and more like it was useless.

Finding herself in front of a rubble pile, she started climbing. A small groan of pain slipped past her lips, but there was no stopping. Pulling herself up to the top of the pile, one foot found its way onto a stable piece of concrete. The other found its place, but slipped as the piece shifted under the weight, sending her tumbling forward with a shriek. Curling reflexively up into a ball, she tumbled and bounced down the other side of the pile.

Landing flat on her stomach, the breath was driven from her lungs. Pain shot through her knees and hands as she forced herself back to her feet. Her lungs refused to work, leaving her gasping for breath as she started limping forward again. The cackling had grown even louder, almost as if the skeletons were laughing at her. Hot tears threatened to spill from her eyes even as her teeth ground together. Of course they were laughing at her, who wouldn't laugh at such a failure?

Quickly glancing over her shoulder revealed the skeletons descending the rubble pile behind her. Desperation drove her to bend low, grabbing a rock from the ground. Throwing open her magic circuits, she couldn't bite back the scream that tore from her throat at the pain. It took all of her control just to write a weak Ansuz rune onto it before closing the circuits back. Gripping it tight, a quick spin was the only warning the skeletons had before she threw the rune at them as hard as she could. Even if she was beaten and battered, she was a magus. And a magus was not to be taken lightly! "Ansuz!"

The rune glowed a bright red as the magic activated. Striking the leading skeleton in the chest, it detonated, exploding into a ball of prana infused fire. It engulfed the skeleton and sent her stumbling backwards onto her behind. She could feel the hairs on her face bending away from the heat, her eyes squinting as the fire quickly died down to smoke. Not a single cackle sounded out, leaving only the crackling of the fire as the background. Slowly picking herself up off the ground, she started limping away, not taking her eyes off the smoke cloud.

A piece of rubble went skipping along the ground as her foot connected with it. As it came a rest, the cackling started again. The two other skeletons leapt through the cloud, their bones burnt and black. Even as she turned to run, one was already upon her. Sword raised high, it leapt through the air to hack into her. Panic engulfed her mind. The only thing she could do was raise an arm in an attempt to stop the strike.

A loud thud and crunching sound came from beside her as something landed to her left. Before she knew what was going on, a large shield of was in between her and the monster. The cut hit the shield and bounced off with a clange, not causing it to budge an inch. The wielder pushed forward, lifting it as they shoved into the skeleton and knocked it to the ground. She watched in stunned silence as they raised their shield up as if it weighed nothing and brought it's bottom edge down with sickening force. The skeleton's torso was reduced to dust.

The other skeleton rushed the warrior low, trying to bring its falchion around the bottom of the shield. It found itself flying as the edge of the shield slammed into it, smashing against a nearby concrete wall. The warrior let out a sigh of relief as the remains of both started transforming into specs of black prana. They turned around to face her, the black specs drifting up around them as they stepped forward. "Are you alright, Master?"

Olga's eyes were still riveted on where the skeleton had been reduced to dust. Slowly, her gaze started to climb. Intricate sabatons of that same purple metal, leading up into stockings of the same color, shot through with a lighter purple. One went up to mid thigh, with a secondary band above it, but the other only went up just above her knee. A short skirt of interlocking plates covered some of the distance, but left plenty of pale skin exposed. Her stomach was also exposed, every other piece of her torso covered in plates. Following one arm, she found it covered in a long glove similar to the stockings. The shield was in the shape of a celtic cross, extensive scroll work covering the cross, while the outer circle was etched with a black flame design, and it alternated between a darker and lighter color. Finally looking at her savior's face, everything ground to a halt at the familiar features framed in lavender hair. "...Mashu?"

A small nod was all that it took before her composure broke, and with a stumble, she threw herself forward at the girl. Wrapping her arms around her neck, the two wound up in a tight hug. Olga desperately clinging on to her, and Mashu taking a few seconds to respond out of shock. A minute passed, then two, the director thinking of nothing but the pure relief that had flooded through her system. Mashu was alive, and she wasn't alone in this hellscape.

Eventually, the fact that she had literally thrown herself at her subordinate and was currently holding onto her for dear life worked its way home. Pulling back as if she had touched a fire, a blush quickly grew on her cheeks. Coughing into her fist to try and trying to regain composure, the blush grew even fiercer as Mashu gave her a look of half curiosity and half concern. "D-Do not look at me like that! I should be looking at you like that! Last I remember, you were half paste courtesy of a piece of the roof! How in the world are you in better shape than me, and WHERE DID YOU GET THAT RIDICULOUS OUTFIT?"

Wincing slightly at the sudden shout, she raised a hand in a surrender motion. "D-Director, I would love to explain it all to you. However, we're currently not safe. I don't know when more skeletons or something worse will arrive. It's in our best interests to find a safe place to hide until we can establish contact with Chaldea."

"Fine, let's go find some place to rest. You can explain it all to me on the way." Grumbling to herself, a quick survey of her surroundings found it bereft of anywhere that would work. Turning to start walking away, the first step left her stumbling as everything grew dark and hazy. The only thing that saved her from hitting the ground face first was Mashu's arm wrapping around her. A lead blanket of exhaustion hit her and dragged her down, she could faintly feel herself being picked up. A few noises that sounded like words were heard, but she couldn't figure out what they were before she slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

The first thing that came back to Olga was her sense of touch this time around. Her mind vaguely registered the cold, hard concrete to her back and below her. It was contrasted by something warm, smooth, and soft that her head was currently resting on while her arms wrapped around something similar. With it came a deep ache all over her body, drawing out a low groan. She heard and felt whatever her head was laying against shift, starting to pull away. Grumbling, her grip tightened and pulled whatever it was closer. A hand came to her shoulder and shook it gently. "Director, I know you're exhausted but you have to get up. We can't afford to spend anymore time resting."

Cracking her eyes open just enough to see past, a blurry mess was what she found waiting for her. Blinking a few times to clear them out, she eventually managed to make out her surroundings. A burnt out room, dirty with soot and rubble. An area of the floor had been scraped clean, and that was where she was currently sitting. Looking over, it took a few moments to realize what was going on. She was leaning against Mashu, hugging her arm tight against her chest.

A few moments passed before she let go, raising a hand to her mouth as she let out a jaw splitting yawn. Mashu quickly extracted her arm, a small blush playing across her cheeks as she moved to sit across from her. Finishing the yawn and rubbing the last of the sleep out of her eyes, the reality of the situation managed to work its way back into her mind. A fierce blush grew on her cheeks and her gaze darted down to the ground, trying to figure out what to say.

"You were and still are suffering from both magical, mental, and physical exhaustion… If we weren't on a time limit, and we were safe, I'd say you'd need at least a couple days in bed. But…" Mashu looked over towards the rooms door, rubbing the back of her neck with a free hand. Sighing softly and thanking whatever being was watching over her that she had an out, she waved a hand.

"I know the situation Mashu… Oh wait, no I don't. I passed out before I got a clear view of the situation! We're in the Singularity, that much is obvious. Why Fuyuki City is currently a literal hellscape, I don't know and I doubt you know. I don't know why in the world you're able to walk, or wearing that ridiculous outfit, or what shape Chaldea is in currently. So now that I'm awake, how about we start from the top and work our way down, hm?" Mashu flinched slightly under the frustrated look she sent her way. A sigh escaped from her lips and she bowed her head, rubbing her temples. Don't take your frustrations out on her Olga, she doesn't deserve it.

"A-Alright Director… As for why I'm wearing this ridiculous outfit, after you fell unconscious trying to… save me in the Rayshift Chamber." She winced, remembering the extent of the injuries Mashu had. "I was… dying, that I knew for certain. What bothered me more was the idea that you'd be stuck in the singularity alone. I was just laying there, holding your hand and crying, when someone appeared... It seems one of the masters decided to preemptively summon a servant. It's master died in the explosion, but it must have seen what you were trying to do and how upset I was. It offered me a contract, its abilities in exchange for solving the singularity and protecting you. Then… he vanished."

"A human and a servant fused… A demi-servant. Chaldea's sixth experiment finally succeeded… I suppose that's at least one upside to this mess. Do you have any idea what the name of the servant you bonded with was?" Fighting back a curse when Mashu shook her head no, she looked away, towards the door. No true name meant no access to the Noble Phantasm, which severely limited Mashu in her combat capabilities. Against skeletons, it wasn't an issue. It would only become an issue if something more powerful was present… She shook her head and looked back at Mashu. "Have communications been re-established with Chaldea?"

"They got a message through while we were on our way here, but the connection broke up quickly. I brought us to the Leyline Terminal so that we can re-establish communications, but I can't do it by myself." Nodding along with the comment, Olga dug into a pocket and pulled out a piece of chalk. The fact that it was still in one piece surprised her, considering the amount of punishment she had gone through. Drawing the circle itself was a simple matter, having practiced the movements required dozens if not hundreds of times in the past. Finishing it off and standing up, she took a few shaky steps out of the way and gestured for Mashu to finish it.

Stepping forward, the shield was laid in the center of the circle. The lines of the circle lit up white with prana, their surroundings quickly warping to form those of Chaldea's summoning room. A small sigh of relief escaped her as she took some comfort in the familiar blue walls. A burst of static drew her attention to the right, where the familiar face of Dr. Roman appeared in a blue hologram. "CQ, CQ? Hello? Helloooooo? Okay, the connections back, I can see you two clearly. Good to see your conscious again, Director."

"Romani! What are you doing? The medical director should not be in charge of the control room! Where's Lev? Gregory? Matilda? Anyone but you?!" Losing all composure at the sight of the Doctor, she began practically howling at him.

He staggered back, as though she was right in front of him, and raised his hands. "D-Director, I know I'm not qualified for this position, but there's not any other option." Seeing his expression fall, she felt herself freeze as he continued. "The explosions were precisely placed to knock out most of the systems, while also killing as many people as possible... No one in the control room survived, we're down to 21 capable staff out of Chaldea's 300. Chaldea has lost up to 80 percent functionality, and all that is left is going to keep the Rayshift, SHEBA, and CHALDEA operational… Olga, CHALDEA has stopped detecting human life within one hundred years into the future."

The two stared silently at each other, even as Mashu put an hand onto her arm. The dam that had been hastily re-erected in her mind threatened to spill over, to break as the true scope of what happened hit. Lev was dead. Almost everyone was dead or injured. Almost everything her family had built, devastated in one well placed attack. The world was literally going to come to an end Eventually, she remembered to breath, and took in one large shaky breath. Releasing it slowly, a small nod was directed at Romani. Tears had already been shed, what they needed now was action. "What about the Masters? What kind of condition are they in?"

"All of the other masters are in critical condition, but still alive. They won't last for long however, the medical wing was damaged in the explosions and we lost a lot of supplies." He winced as he explained, noticing the severe frown that formed immediately on her face.

"Activate the cryostasis on the Rayshift Coffins. It'll buy enough time for us to get outside aid. I'll deal with any legal backlash that might come. I'm not losing more staff than necessary! Rayshift three Saint Quartz to our position. Mashu and I shall summon another servant for assistance, and then begin investigating Singularity F for it's cause. Once found, we'll Rayshift back until a team can be gathered to fully deal with it." She raised a hand and let out a small growl as both him and Mashu moved to say something. "No arguing! That is a direct order, am I making myself clear?"

Looking at her for a few more moments, he offered a small nod before turning off the comms. Closing her eyes for a few moments, she sighed internally. If she ever met Zelretch again… she wasn't sure if she would kiss him or beat his face in. Turning towards the shield in the center of the summoning room, the hand on her shoulder tightened a bit. "Director, you can't summon another servant, you're barely standing as is! At least rest for a while longer before trying."

Shrugging the hand off as a small container materialized from gold dust in front of them, she slowly bent down and picked it up. Popping it open to reveal three crystals glowing the color of the rainbow, she took them into her hand. A quick glance back revealed Mashu's concerned face, and she set her face into a stern expression. Now was the time to take charge, not let doubt drag her down. "I'll be fine. The Saint Quarts handle most of the prana expenditure for the summoning itself, and maintaining the servant is handled by the Fate System. We need another servant to watch our backs, especially since you can't access your Noble Phantasm."

Acquiescing to her logic, Mashu positioned herself a short distance back and to the side of Olga. She looked at the circle in front of her, gripping the Saint Quartz tighter in her hand until they cracked, and broke. The prana they encapsulated rushed into her circuits. This must be what the first drink of water after walking through a desert must feel like. With a hand pointed towards the summoning circle, she repeated the summoning mantra in her mind.

_Let silver and steel be the essence,_

_Let stone and the archduke of contracts be the foundation_

_Let the Fate System be the ancestor_

_Let rise a wall against the wind that shall fall.  
Let the four cardinal gates close._

_Let the three-forked road that leads to the kingdom circulate._

_Shut, fill._

_Shut, fill._

_Shut, fill._

_Shut, fill._

_Shut, fill._

_Repeat every five times._

_Simply, shatter once filled._

_Heed my words. My will creates your body,_

_And your sword creates my destiny. If you heed humanity's plea,_

_And seek to aid in our Grand Order, then answer my summoning!  
I hereby swear, that we shall be all the good in the world,_

_That I shall defeat all the evil in the world!_

_Seventh heaven clad, and the great words of power,_

_Come forth from the circle of bindings, Guardian of the Scales!_

The light in the circle began to grow brighter and brighter, shooting up towards the ceiling in a rotating pillar of light. Mashu and her had to look away, protecting their eyes as the light turned golden. All of a sudden, it broke, shooting off in every direction. They turned back to face the light as it dimmed, one eyebrow rising as she heard a voice speak. "It is a pleasure to meet you, Master! My true name is Artoria Pendragon, but since I am still in training, please call me Saber Lily."

* * *

This took forever to come out… But, it's here. Only took over a month eh? But, basic set up is well underway! As to the difference from this to the actual story as presented. Olga in the original story didn't know what had happened until after Ritsuka told her. In the original, there was never a real connection in her mind to the tragedy that had happened. It likely never truly hit home just how bad the situation had been. So, in this situation, where she personally saw the hellscape. Where she tried to save Mashu, and completely failed… it had a bigger impact on her. Everything else pretty much follows the original story, with a few mild alterations here or there. I took the summoning chant from Fate Zero and changed it to suit the goals of Chaldea. Hope you enjoy.


	3. Chapter 3

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Master! My true name is Artoria Pendragon, but since I am still in training, please call me Sabre Lily." The voice echoed around the wrecked room, and caused her other eyebrow to rise up. Did she summon some long distant of King Arthur or something? The name was incredibly similar, but she had never heard of any Atoria before. As the light faded enough for her to get a good look at the servant, even more questions cropped up.

A girl stood before her, pale blond hair tied back into a ponytail with a large black ribbon. Bright green eyes poked out from behind the bangs, and a small smile covered her face. Covering her chest was a shining steel breastplate, segmented into six distinct pieces. Right at the crest of the breast-plate was a tiny symbol, a kind of diamond shape with two sections and four spikes coming from each point. An armored skirt came from the breast plate around the back of her, and underneath it was a dress of pure white accented with black. Covering each hand was an hour-glass gauntlet, with a sleeve of white going up to just below her shoulders. Covering her legs were greaves and boots, though they also had those ridiculous metal high heels.

In her hand was an exquisite blade of shining steel about as long as she was tall with a gold runed inlay. The haft was made of gold, with sections painted blue and a few purple gems set into it. It probably would have looked awe-inspiring… if the wielder didn't look at most fifteen. Rather, she exuded an aura of hopeful confidence. She felt herself relax slightly, the tension of the situation bleeding out of her at the sight. Things were bad, but she wasn't alone. She could do this, they could do this.

A small wave of exhaustion hit her, causing her to waver slightly. Mashu's hand found its way to her side, keeping her steady. Ignoring the concerned and slightly curious look coming from Artoria, she gave Mash a grateful look and a nod before taking a breath. "Sabre Lily, you have accepted the request to aid us in our mission to protect humanity. I am your Master, Olga Marie Animusphere, and this is your fellow servant Mashu Kyrielight. You are to help us uncover the reason for the Foundation of Humanity being disrupted in this singularity. Is this understood?"

"Perfectly!" The smile that had faded for a moment at her momentary weakness returned full force, and she couldn't help but return a small one of her own. The magnificent sword vanished as she unmanifested it, dropping into a small curtsy. "You already have a shield, so I shall be your sword on this most dangerous mission. Your enemies are my enemies… So, what's the plan Master? What're we doing and where are we going?"

The sudden tonal shift made her blink as Lily straightened back up and placed her hand on her hip. Opening her mouth to respond, before stopping. What… was the plan. Did she even have a plan? No, no she didn't really have a plan at the moment beyond "investigate". There hadn't been a chance to really think about anything in the long term, and now she was on the spot with both of them looking at her for leadership… "We… We're going to investigate the singularity, starting with major landmarks. The bridge should be a good starting point."

The two servants nodded, looking at each other for a few moments. Lily's eyes went directly to Mash's shield, eyebrows furrowing slightly in concentration as she considered it. The moment passed and she smiled, offering her a hand. Mash took it and shook it with slight, confusion before Lily let go and pointed towards the door. "We are burning daylight, so onwards my noble companions, to adventure!"

The two watched as she confidently strode out the door, vanishing out of sight before turning to look at each other. Olga sighed in exasperation as Mash giggled, earning a bit of stink eye. "Well Director, she's definitely a lively one… Do you need help walking?"

She frowned and turned to walk out the door as well, nose turned up slightly. "I assure you Mash, I am quite f-ah!" Her words were cut off as her leg gave out, only saved by Mash darting to her side to grab her. Grumbling internally, a small blush grew as she realized her position being hugged to Mash's chest. "...I-It appears that l'm not as… fine as I thought…. New plan, Mash, I order you to carry me on your back until I am able to walk again."

She nodded with a serious expression written across her face, and thus began the awkward process of shifting Olga onto her back. Eventually they managed, Olga shifting to get comfortable as she leaned forward onto Mash. The slight blush on her face as she felt Mash's hands shift on her legs to hold her refused to go away, and the feeling of cold steel under her arms as they looped around her neck wasn't helping. Without another word between the two, they exited the room and set off after Sabre Lily.

They found her stood on top of a pile of rubble nearby, eyebrow quirked as she watched the two of them hurry across the rubble and waste. The blush on her face grew a little bit at the attention, eliciting a small grumble in Sabre's direction. Glad that she didn't ask any questions about the situation, the trio set out in the direction of the bridge. At least, in the direction of the river. She couldn't actually see the bridge at the moment, but she could see the river.

An almost deafening silence descended on the group as they walked through the ruins of Fuyuki, the only sound being the crunch of concrete under their feet and the flickering of the flames around them. With the time to really take it in, Olga couldn't help but frown at the sight. The devastation continued as far as the city itself, only ending where the city stopped and forest began. Nothing seemed to have been spared. What could have caused such devastation…

"It is just you two? Considering what knowledge I was blessed with, it seems like there should be many more on this quest." Lily's voice shattered the silence like a bull in a china shop, causing her to jump slightly. Turning to look at the curious servant, she couldn't help but sigh as she remembered the devastation that had occurred back in Chaldea. So many dead and gone, it would take months before they even got close to their previous condition…

"There was an… incident in Chaldea. You know what Chaldea is, the system gave you that information, correct?" She waited to get a nod in response before continuing. "Someone sabotaged the very first test of the Rayshift system, and many of the master candidates were injured. We were sent here by ourselves, thus why we're here alone. We're investigating to gather information to use whenever we return, once we've returned to full functionality."

Lily slowly nodded, glancing around at the devastation around them as they continued onwards. "I suppose that's why she's carrying you on her back? You were injured in this attack as well?" A small affirmative sound was the only response she got. "Well Master, I promise not to rest until whoever thought to hurt you has been hunted down! Do you think we may encounter them in this burning hell-scape?"

She almost snapped at her for asking such a ridiculous question, before stopping and truly considering it. It wouldn't have been her first guess, that going to some of the rivals she had for funding in the Mage's Association. The fact that it was sabotaging something so incredibly important, and aimed for maximum casualties as well made that idea seem less likely. Even the most ruthless of magus families wouldn't cause so many deaths if they could get away with fewer. With the power of a Holy Grail though, an entity could theoretically reach out of the Singularity and orchestrate the sabotage… Wasn't that a terrifying thought. "It is a… possibility. If so, we must proceed as carefully as possible. If something in this singularity sabotaged Chaldea, then they likely have the power of the Holy Grail backing them. I don't think I need to explain why that is a bad thing."

Lily and Mash both nodded, their eyes darting towards their surroundings as they examined them anew. Shaking her head, her own eyes turned towards the distance, mentally trying to map out where all the major landmarks were. She hadn't spent much time familiarizing herself with the map of Fuyuki, figuring she'd have plenty of time to do so during the mission itself. No time to regret it now, just to figure it out. The harbor and church were located to the right of the bridge, if one stood on it looking at the ocean. To the left was the temple, one of the local schools, and… wasn't there a couple of magus households over there as well?

The feeling of coming to a stop drew her from her thoughts, bringing her to look between Lily and Mash as they stood and listened. Mash slowly let her down to the ground, and she followed their eyes up to where they were looking. Appearing in the window of a wrecked building nearby, was another skeleton clad in rags. This time, instead of missing one arm with a falchion, this one had a bow and an arrow stuck into one of its sockets. It cackled and started to pull back its bow, but never got a chance to fire. Lily took off, becoming a blur as she leaped the distance between them and the skeleton. A single swing of her blade was enough to cleave the thing in twine, the monster fading into motes of purple light even as it fell.

Even as she started to open her mouth, more cackles started to erupt from the buildings around them. Lily brought her sword up and deflected an arrow that came at her, casually shifting her sword to deflect more arrows before her voice came through their mental link. _Your orders Master?_

Mash turned to look at her as well, and she froze. All the combat simulations and lessons on tactics she had gone through fled out the window the instant their attention fell on her. An arrow skidded off a piece of concrete near her head and she ducked as Mash dodged in front of her with her shield. Just come up with something dammit, doesn't need to be the most effective plan ever! "L-Lily, hunt down the archers and anything that comes near you! Mash will protect me from any that come after us."

A sense of understanding came through the mental link and then Lily shot off like a rocket. A blur of black and white, bouncing between buildings and carving skeletons into pieces without any effort. Mash gave her an uncertain look, gripping her shield tightly. "Director… Are you sure it's wise to rely on me in a fight? I don't even know what spirit fused me, and can't use my noble phantasm to its fullest extent."

"I understand that Mash, but at the moment…" They both turned to look at a group of five skeletons that came around the corner, armed with a mixture of falchions and spears. A wild cackle escaped from their lips before they charged, and Olga set her features. "W-Well, you're just going to have to do your best. Because it's too late to back out now."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Olga huffed and puffed, sliding down a wall and looking out at the river. Mash stood nearby leaning on her shield catching her own breath. Lily was the only one who seemed fine after the fighting, keeping an eye out on top of a nearby light pole that was somehow still standing. The horde of skeletons had been massive and had quickly turned into a running battle to ensure that they hadn't gotten surrounded. The bruises and scrapes she had accumulated flared and she couldn't help but wince and suck in a breath.

Mash noticed and gave her a concerned look, which she waved off before sighing. Her exhaustion had faded somewhat with time, at least enough for her to be able to run under her own power. She didn't dare use any magecraft lest the exhaustion return, which made their pace infuriatingly slow. Her eyes turned to Lily, asking a question through her mental link. _Any more skeletons in sight?_

She got a negative in response, and allowed herself to relax they didn't get surrounded, then Lily and Mash could keep her safe. Mash's skills with her noble-phantasm turned out to be more than adequate for dealing with the average skeleton or five. They really couldn't hurt her. The issue lied when so many came at once that some managed to slip past her, to try and get at Olga herself. Thus Olga having to constantly run to keep ahead of the horde as Mash and Lily worked in tandem to destroy it. The resulting noise would draw in even more skeletons, which resulted in more running and destruction.

"W-We probably have cleared out every skeleton within several blocks by this point… How in the Root did so many of those form? Are they what remains of the inhabitants of the city?" A small grimace came over her face at the thought of so many people turning into monsters. It was idle speculation either way. Shaking her head, her eyes turned to look over the river, choked with dust and debris from the buildings and fires.

"How are you feeling Director?" Mash asked, leaning the shield down against the wall before sitting down by her. Olga eyed her for a moment before sighing, raising one arm slowly before letting it drop.

"I feel better than I did earlier, at the least. Actually able to walk. I don't want to run the risk of using any magecraft though. I probably damaged my circuits back in Chaldea…" The last sentence escaped in a murmur, a frown coming over her features as she thought back onto that moment. There had been an incredibly real chance of her dying there, and then everything would have fallen apart…

"About that…" She glanced up at Mash, watching her take a deep breath and set her features. "Director, I really do appreciate you doing everything you could to save my life... But please, NEVER do something that reckless again. Especially now that you're not just the Director, but the only available master. Everything relies on you at the moment, and I'm replaceable. It's my job to protect you."

Blinking, Olga took in the determined set to Mash's features. Logically, it made sense. She was the most important person for Chaldea at the moment, so her survival was top priority. While losing a servant was painful, more could always be summoned. It still felt… wrong, but the logic there was too sound to ignore. "Okay… Okay. Mash, I entrust you with protecting me during this mission. As such, I won't make your job anymore difficult."

A relieved smile came over her features and she returned it, even though the wrong feeling didn't go away. It only got stronger from agreeing with her. Trying to ignore it, she pushed herself up. A wince came as her injures flared, but she took a breath and fought the pain off. Mash got up with her, and they both turned to look at Sabre as she hopped down from the pile of rubble. "We're still a bit up river from the bridge, I'd wager that we'll reach it with another hour's worth of walking."

They both nodded and the trio started off down the remains of the river-side road. The water flowed slowly alongside them, visible by the way the debris swirled and moved. Lily and Mash kept their eyes on their surroundings, though Lily seemed distracted as she kept glancing at Olga with a slightly concerned, slightly curious look. Each glanced made Olga fidget more and more with irritation, eventually causing her to turn her head and glare at Lily as she glanced at her. A small blush formed on her face and she quickly looked away, an only slightly cruel smirk appearing on Olga's features at the response.

"There's something ahead." Mash's voice cut through their little distraction, drawing their attention forwards. Both of them squinted as they tried to figure out what Mash had spotted as she pointed. It took Olga a couple moments to be able to pick out the silhouettes from the random rubble and destruction that surrounded them.

"...Is that a statue garden? What's a statue garden doing here of all places?" Olga asked incredulously, starting to walk forward again. It made absolutely no sense for a statue garden of all things to just be sitting out in the middle of the road. She couldn't for the life of her remember if there was a park in that location or not, it just wasn't important enough to be taken into account. Lily and Mash joined her as they continued towards it, though their expressions were much more curious and nervous respectively.

As they walked closer and closer, the curiosity slowly turned to nervousness as they saw the way the statues were posed. Arms thrown in the air as if warding something off, huddled to the ground in fear while gazing at the sky, on their backs as if they had tripped. A macabre scene of people fleeing from some unknown force. They eventually reached a point where they could see their expressions, and they had to stop and stare at the horrified looks on their faces. Each one was carved with such minute detail, they almost seemed like they were… alive… Olga took a few steps back, eyes wide as she understood the scene before her. "We… should leave. We should go."

"Aw, what's the rush." The sound of clinking metal was the main warning as a chain seemed to whip out of nowhere, trying to loop around Olga's leg. The only thing that saved her was Lily moving to intercept before there was even any signs of the chain. One arm grabbed Olga by her shoulder and pulled her away, the chain grasping at empty air before retreating to the barrier of chains that had formed behind them. A figure manifested on top of the chains, a set of glowing yellow eyes staring down at them. "After all, it's not every day fresh prey shows up~"

A/N: So, this is finally back after so long. Honestly I just got really caught up writing Worm related to things, and lost inspiration. Recently I got back into Fate a lot more, so I decided to pick this back up. So… yay? It's honestly kind of difficult to write for this, as I'm trying to keep the pacing good. Interspersing conflict with character interaction, while also trying to combine the disperate depictions that we get from the actual game and the movie tie in. I just hope I did well.


	4. Chapter 4

The figure was tall, looming over the three of them from the top of the chains. Long lavender hair trailed in the wind, escaping from underneath a tattered black cloak. Just above a pair of strange, glowing yellow eyes the hood of the cloak had a strange marking on it, resembling a blood splatter against the dark material. A black dress tightly hugged her form, leaving her muscular legs exposed. Red circular tattoos trailed down her left leg, with a pair of black metal boots covering her feet. Resting on her shoulder in one hand, was a sickled bladed scythe, the metal of the blade glinting in the flickering light of the fires.

The sound of metal grinding against stone sounded out as Mash and Lily shifted themselves to stand in front of Olga, their grips tightening on their weapons as their grips tightened on their weapons. A chuckle escaped from the servant on the chains as she crouched down a little, tilting her head as she examined the three before her. "A master with two servants? I know I haven't seen you all before, I would remember prey so young and fresh."

Olga stood, frozen under the servants hungry gaze as Mash's eyes roamed the surrounding area before returning to the servant. "I see the servant, but I can't see her master anywhere!"

Snapping out of the frozen shock and fear, she raised her arm to point a slightly trembling finger at the servant, bracing the arm with her other arm. "R-Remember, this is a world gone mad. A servant without a master is probably the least weird thing we'll see here."

A small chuckle escaped the servant as she straightened out and walked along the chains, balancing herself perfectly. Reaching the end, she stepped off and landed on the ground, striding over to one of the statues even as the group shifted to keep her to their face. The statue was of a young woman in a school uniform, with a bow in her hair. Lily decided to speak, eyes narrowing as her stance shifted. "Why do this? Why kill all these humans? What did you have to gain from it?"

A small chuckle escaped her lips as she leaned in and inspected the statue of the girl. "Oh what's the matter, don't approve of it? Well too bad, these humans entered my hunting grounds, and anything in my hunting grounds are mine to do as I please. That includes taking what joy I can out of their fear." She finished her inspection of the statue and patted it on the head, before stepping away with a small twirl to face the group. "And well, today I shall have three more statues for my garden~"

"We have to fight her." Mash and Olga's eyes turned to look over at Lily as she spoke, her grip tightening on her sword as she stared at the servant dead on. "She isn't going to let us go, and besides… Honor demands that we don't allow a monster such as her to be allowed to go free."

"Do you two think you can take her?" The servant chuckled as Olga asked the question. Lily and Mash looked at each other again for a moment before nodding at each other. The two shifted their stances to a more attack oriented position, as the enemy servant chuckled and shifted her own stance as well.

"You two think you can take me? Cute, considering as far as I can tell, the one with the shield has never fought before, and you're not much more experienced blondie." The scythe shifted, being twirled around a few times before coming to rest in a two handed grip. "Well, as your superior, I do believe I'll have to teach you. Be careful what you say and do, as once the word fight has been said, it has already begun!"

With those final words, she crouched and leapt forward, seeming to vanish from the speed of her movement. Mash's shield came up just in time as she seemed to reappear in front of her, scythe coming down onto it like a lightning bolt. The resulting sound and blast from the clash was like thunder, Olga raising an arm against it. Mash staggered slightly under the blow, gritting her teeth against the force. The servant landed fully on the shield, the lance flipping around so that the spear tip on its other end was pointed towards Mash.

With a yell, Lily exploded from her own position with a burst of prana, Caliburn carving a golden arc through the air as it swung at the servant. Using the shield as a launch pad, she kicked off of it to avoid the deadly arc of Caliburn. Even as she spun through the air, the blade of the scythe came in to slash at Lily. The blade of Caliburn continued its arc through the air, the swing turning into a parry as it met with the scythe and knocked it off course. Twirling mid-air, the enemy servant landed on her feet and charged forward again, spear point leading the way this time.

Lily was put on the defensive as she unleashed a flurry of thrusts at her, Caliburn being forced to move in a series of tight motions to keep it from piercing her. "Be careful young one, my lance is the Lance of Immortal Killing! Any wound this lance delivers cannot be healed, through any means! Even a miracle that healed your entire body would not save you from forever being a failure of a servant!"

The scythe twirled about to come in for a large overhead strike, and Lily stepped back. To make room for Mash to come from the side with a yell, ramming her shield into Lancer's side. Her eyes widened as she was sent flying from the bash, twirling mid air to land feet first against the wall. It cracked as she went to a knee against it from the force of the blow, and fully broke as she kicked off of it and through the air. As she went, a hand went to her hair and flicked it out, the strands turning into snakes for a moment before turning into chains. "You're a bit too fresh for my nerves, be entangled in my hair!"

The chains shot out and around, coming towards the three of them as even more wrapped between various bits of scenery to contain them. Olga yelped as she saw several coming right for her, stepping back as Mash appeared before her. The sound of steel striking steel filled the air as the shield came down on top of the chains, snapping the links. On the opposite side, Lily danced a beautiful dance with Caliburn, the blade slashing through several chains as she avoided the ones coming at her. All of the chains broken on the floor, they turned their attention towards Lancer as she stood on top of one of the chain walls.

The servants squared off again, Olga nervously looking at the chains surrounding them. This… this was bad. She could send as many chains as they wanted at them, and because they had to protect her, they couldn't engage. They would stand a chance if only she wasn't there… A plan formed in her mind and she shouted out, turning to start running to one of the nearby buildings. "Lily, engage her, Mash, clear me a way!"

Lily shot off towards Lancer, the street shattering underneath her feet. The sound of steel meeting steel sounded out as their blades clashed for a moment. The chains moved to try and ensnare her, and another burst of prana sent her hurtling into the sky away from them. Lancer leapt up after her, beginning a strange aerial dance between the two.

On the ground, more chains swarmed towards Mash and Olga. Darting forward as Olga leapt over one chain that went for her leg, Mash jumped up and brought the edge of her shield down hard onto the chains that made up the wall. The heavy metal of the shield tore through the links with the shriek of steel on steel, flying away as the shield hit the ground and created a shock-wave. Charging past her, Olga ran deeper into the building while shouting over her shoulder. "Go help Lily! I'll be fine!"

Mash didn't get a chance to argue, as she whirled around to block the strikes of the chains that were still chasing them. One managed to snake its way around her shield and wrap around her arm. It tugged on her arm and she yelped, stumbling in that direction for a moment. Letting go of her shield with one hand, she grabbed a hold of the chain and pulled on it with all her might. A pained groan sounded out as a link broke and the whole chain went limp, leaving her alone for the moment.

Her head whipped towards the sound of clashing steel, spotting Lily get sent hurtling to the ground like an ivory comet. She rolled out of the cloud of dust kicked up by her impact, several of the chains chasing her being sliced by Caliburn as she went. Mash darted over to her side and raised her shield to block a few of the chains coming at her from behind. Lancer landed on the ground shortly after, a small frown on her face as she stared towards the two of them. Without taking her eyes off of her, Lily spoke. "Ready?"

Mash gave her a nervous glance, before setting her features and nodding. A small smile appeared on Lily's face, and the two charged towards the enemy.

Lancer growled and charged forward in turn, the chains flying in with her. Falling back slightly, Lily allowed Mash to meet Lancer's charge head on. Scythe arced down and shield bashed upwards, the two colliding with a thunderous bang. Medusa bounced off the shield, flying over top of it to start thrusting with the spear point towards Mash. Caliburn arced upwards to intercept, knocking the thrust aside as Mash shifted the shield in a wild swing to knock away some of the chains coming towards them.

Landing, Lancer charged forward to thrust at Lily. Stepping back, Lily got out of the way as Mash followed through the swing she did on the chains. The shield slammed into the ground just before the point of the lance slammed into the center of the shield, skidding off to the side. Several chains came in at once at Mash's back, only to end up severed as Caliburn tore through them. With a yell, Mash lifted the shield and charged forward, slamming it into her and sending her falling backwards.

Rolling onto her hands, she flipped onto her feet with a growl. Lily was on her before she could charge at them again, bursts of prana turning Caliburn into a golden blur. For arguably the first time in the fight, Lancer was on the defensive. Her scythe became a blur as well to match the furious assault as she was driven back. Chains shot towards the pair, only to be blocked and smashed to pieces by Mash with her shield.

Flipping backwards, Lancer dodged out of the way of a slash from Caliburn as her foot lashed out. The tip of her boot caught Lily in the chin and sent her reeling backwards. A grin came across Lancer's face as she lunged forward to try bring her scythe's blade down around her neck. Mash intervened, the shield appearing between the two as before. The edge of the scythe snaked around the rim of the shield and caught, Mash getting caught off guard by the unexpected show of force.

The shield slipped from her grip and tumbled to the ground, leaving Mash stumbling back. Lancer grinned and brought the spear point of the scythe forward in a thrust at her. Lily's foot came out and slammed into the back of Mash's ankle at the same time, knocking her backwards. The point of the spear passed the smallest of fractions from her face as she fell. Landing with a small 'ooph', she could only watch as Lancer transitioned the thrust into a downward strike that Lily parried as she stepped back forward.

Mash rolled to the side and manifested the shield into her hand again, bringing it around to smash at some chains that came at her. This… this was moving so fast. Lancer and Lily seemed to be moving more like blurs, Lily only managing to keep up with Lancer's supernatural speed thanks to the bursts of prana that sped her up and just good instincts. She could keep the chains off of them, but they were stuck in a stalemate. Something had to change.

Her eyes locked onto the shield in her hand for a moment. There… there was definitely something she could do. They couldn't risk actually getting cut by that lance, but… there was something there. Something she could do, that was just buried beneath the surface. Her eyes turned back to the fight, and she darted forward to block some chains that came at Lily from the side. Their eyes met for a moment, and it was enough to convey that she had a plan.

Lancer surged forward again and this time, Mash charged forward to meet her instead of Lily. The blade of the scythe came down and snagged on the outside edge of the shield, but this time Mash carried forward with the motion. The metal of the shield slammed into Lancer and sent her backwards into a handspring to her feet. Just in time for Lily to come leaping over Mash, Caliburn glowing bright for a massive, reckless overhead strike. The blade of the scythe came hurtling in from the side to split Lily in twine, as Mash focused in on Lily.

Come on, come on, come on! It was just beneath the surface, the instinctual knowledge of what she's supposed to be able to do as a servant! If she didn't access it Lily would die! With one final push, the barrier broke and the knowledge came to her. One hand came up to point towards Lily, and she focused. Lily's form seemed to warp ever so slightly, the edges of her body growing rougher, almost chalk like. Just in time, as the blade of the scythe came in faster than Caliburn… and passed through her body as if it wasn't even there, leaving no harm. The same could not be said for Caliburn as it completed its arc.

A shriek of anguish cut through the sounds of battle as Lancer stumbled back away from the two, one arm removed cleanly at the shoulder. Foul purple blood spurted from the stump, staining the concrete below. Mash gave a dry swallow as she stared at the wound, and Lily advanced to finish her off. Lancer's eyes turned to face the two of them, flashing with a violet light as she screamed. "ENOUGH OF THIS GAME!"

Lily and Mash staggered as pain wracked their bodies, a terrible pressure pressing down on them. Lancer darted forward and brought the scythe around in a spin, Lily barely managing to bring Caliburn up to block the strike. The strike sent her flying in her weakened state, tumbling and skipping across the ground for several feet before she managed to stab the blade into the ground to halt her roll. Mash tried stumbling forward to help, several chains suddenly taking advantage of the difficulties to strike. Two for each arm, one for each leg, and one wrapping around her throat.

Spitting some blood from her mouth, Lily pushed herself to her feet while panting. She stumbled slightly before steadying herself into a slightly swaying stance. A ferocious snarl had covered Lancers face, as she slowly stalked towards Lily with her one arm. "You… You're tougher than I expected. But, in the end, you're still prey. Even if I can't turn you to stone, I can still slit your throat and drink the blood that pours out."

Mash struggled against the chains binding her, gasping for breath as the one around her neck tightened. Lily gritted her teeth and prepared to begin to fight again, before both of them heard Olga's voice call out in their head. _CLOSE YOUR EYES NOW!_

From the building behind Lancer, a small chunk of rubble came flying through the air towards Lancer's head. She turned with a dismissive snort, bringing the scythe around to smash it from the air. Her eyes widened slightly as she saw the rune that had been engraved into the rubble, but it was too late. The scythe smashed into it, reducing the rock to bits… and activating the rune carved into it. An incredible flash of light and burst of sound escaped.

She let loose a pained shriek at the sudden attack on her senses. Stumbling back with her eyes screwed shut, she could feel Lily burst forward from her position. It wasn't enough, as the blade of the scythe swung towards her and passed close enough to her head to slice a few hairs. The blade of Caliburn did not make such an error, as it found its way between her ribs and into her heart. A faint gasp escaped Lancer's lips, and the scythe fell from her gasp.

Bringing a leg up, Lily kicked Lancer off the blade while pulling it out with a wet noise. She stumbled back, the one hand she had coming up, clutching at the wound. It came back to her eye level, drenched with the foul purple that pumped through her veins. Turning her gaze towards Lily, her eyes drifted over her shoulder, towards a certain statue. Her features softened, before she fell backwards. She faded into motes of purple energy before hitting the ground.

The chains around the battlefield followed suit. Gasping for breath, Mash fell backwards onto her behind as she rubbed at her throat. Lily stuck the tip of Caliburn into the ground and leaned onto it, panting slightly. One hand came up to poke at her ribs, wincing slightly as a lance of pain ran through her. The two looked at each other for a moment, before turning their eyes up to where the rubble had come from. Olga grinned tiredly down at them from a third story window, leaning against the wall.

After a moment, all three of them let out a collective sigh of relief at the end of the battle. Moving to get back together and tend to their wounds, they never never noticed the blue clad figure standing atop the bridge. Leaning onto a roughly carved wooden staff, he hummed slightly to himself as he watched them. "Not bad kids… Not bad."

A/N: So, this finally comes out. I think the first major fight deserves its own chapter, eh? Even if it took over a month to come out… Sue me, College takes up a lot of my time. This fight is a lot longer than both what the game would have been, and what it was like in the movie. Mostly because well… the fight in the movie was kind of anti-climatic. I just hope I got the details right! Anyway, hope you enjoy.


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